Following his sixth round knockout of Javier Fortuna, lightweight Ryan Garcia appeared at the post-fight press conference to discuss the win, and more importantly some of the big fights he’s intent on making going forward. It’s no secret that Garcia has been calling out Gervonta Davis, but says he’s got another big name on his list if that can’t come together. Check out some excerpts of what Garcia had to say below with the full press conference video above.
On Gervonta Davis tweeting “See ya’ll at the end of the year” immediately after his knockout of Fortuna and what that potentially means
“I just don’t like that he doesn’t make things clear. If he says ‘See you in December,’ make thins a little bit clearer — ‘Ryan, let’s get it on.’ I feel like I’m very transparent in the way I talk. I call him out not because I’m thirsty, I call him out because I’m genuinely want I want to do. So we’ll figure it out with the teams and we’ll make it happen. I want to do this for the people and I know everybody wants this fight to happen, so I’ll be putting my whole heart to try to make this fight.”
On what he’ll do if a fight against Tank can’t be made
“If that fight for some reason doesn’t happen, which I don’t see that happening, but if it doesn’t happen I want to fight Teofimo Lopez at 140.”
On what he has to do in order to ensure a fight against either Tank or Teofimo
“I mean, do things how you’re supposed to do ‘em. Just contact your team, make sure that they let ‘em know that we want to fight, and then they send an offer or we send an offer, and then we figure it out. I can’t really explain it perfectly because that’s something that Lupe (Valencia) or Golden Boy would have to try to work out.”
On how he believes he matches up with Tank
“I mean, I know I have more speed than him. I know that I’m taller, and I know that I’m bigger. But we’ll have to see when we get in there. It doesn’t really matter how he fought or how I fought this fight (against Fortuna). I’ve learned once you get in there the fight starts unfolding for itself, and I’ll figure it out when I’m in there.”
On if he’s just as confident he could beat Devin Haney as he is about beating Tank
“Of course. I have history with Devin Haney. I know what could get him. He’s a good fighter too. All these guys are great fighters. I just feel like I have something in me that can elevate me, surpass them, because I honestly feel it’s just who I am. I’m different in a way, and I will beat these guys. I will do everything in my power to beat them and still show love to them. Competitively, I know I can beat ‘em.”
On if he believes he could’ve done an even better job against Fortuna
“No, I don’t think there was anything. I think the one thing I’ve fixed is not rushing in, even when I had him hurt. And that’s something I’ve been working, something I’ve been trusting, ‘I’m gonna get him later on, he’s getting broken down, I can see it in his face.’
“But it’s like a hurt animal in the wild, they’re gonna strike the hardest when they’re hurt. So I kept on paying attention to that…so I noticed every time I stepped to him when I thought he was hurt he would shoot a big overhand, like he tried to hit me with a Luke Campbell shot like every time. It’s like, ‘try something new’ (laughs). I just kept my hand up.
“I felt like I did everything I wanted coming in, and I told everybody if I can show my skills and get a knockout, and show the fighter I truly am, I will be happy. And I’m super happy.”